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Output 3.5
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Strategic advice, activities and representation relating to Australia's development as an information economy, nationally and internationally
High-quality program administration
Information Technology Online
The Information Technology Online (ITOL) program is a competitive funding program designed to accelerate national adoption of e-business solutions, especially by small and medium enterprises, across a broad range of industry sectors and geographic regions.
A total of 73 applications were received in one funding round held in 2005–06. Funding agreements for 12 new projects involving 81 organisations were finalised in 2005–06.
Twelve projects from the agriculture, theatre, arts and craft, transport, health, construction and building sectors were awarded funding to the value of $1.965 million in round 14. All round 14 projects are expected to be completed by 30 June 2007.
An internal survey of ITOL funding recipients found that departmental staff are seen as helpful and courteous and that recipients found feedback from them as valuable and timely. Recipients rated the program's application process, reporting requirements and administration positively for clarity, simplicity and modest cost compared to other government funding programs.
In addition, strong interest in the program is shown by the large number of applications received, the increase in the number of ITOL News subscribers and the number of hits on the program's web pages.
Information Technology Online Team. (L–R): Katelijne Van Landeghem, Anne Liddell, Lillian Chan.
High-quality and timely policy advice and ministerial services
The Department provided 91 per cent of its briefings on information economy issues to the Minister's office on time (figure 2.49). Sixty-eight per cent of responses to Ministerial correspondence were completed on time, which represents a deterioration against last year's performance (80 per cent) and enhanced reporting and tracking arrangements have been put in place to reverse this trend.
Seventy-four per cent of Question Time briefs and all Parliamentary Questions on Notice were completed on time.
Figure 2.49 Advice provided within timeframes
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | Variation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of advice | Number | % on time | Number | % on time | Difference on time (%) |
| Ministerial correspondence | 61 | 80 | 60 | 68 | -12 |
| Briefings | |||||
| - Department initiated minutes | 58 | 100 | 77 | 91 | -9 |
| - Meeting briefs | 3 | 11 | |||
| Question Time briefs | 40 | 72 | 35 | 74 | +2 |
| Parliamentary questions on notice | 0 | 1 | 100 | ||
Effective client satisfaction and consultation
According to the Department's client survey, overall satisfaction with the Department's information economy activities remained high with 97 per cent of respondents reporting client service was 'satisfactory', 'good' or 'excellent'.
The Department has actively consulted with industry stakeholders on a range of information economy policy issues. These include e-business, e-research, innovation policy, the contribution made by information and communications technology towards productivity and statistical and other measurement issues. Meetings and briefings seeking views of stakeholders were held throughout the year.
A call for public submissions in relation to the review of the E-Security National Agenda was made on 30 March 2006,
in conjunction with the review's announcement by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, the Attorney General, the Minister for Defence and the Special Minister for State.
During the development of the Spam Act 2003, a requirement was built into the legislation for a review of its operation after two years. The review involved release of an issues paper in December 2005 inviting public comment on the operation of the Act. The Department prepared a report based on the input received during consultations. The Minister presented the report to Parliament in June 2006.
The Department continued to update the e-business guide website by developing and incorporating new information and resources such as fresh case studies and the Getting Started booklet. The Department also sponsored a very successful series of e-business seminars for small businesses.
In relation to spyware, the Department continued to work closely with both industry and law enforcement agencies, co-hosting a law enforcement workshop in November 2005 with the Australian High Tech Crime Centre. A further workshop to promote the responsible and ethical use of legitimate software, such as adware and cookies, was held in collaboration with the Australian Direct Marketing Association and the Internet Industry Association in May 2006.
Compliance with accountability standards
The ITOL program methodology is consistent with the Departmental Practical Guide to Program Administration (April 2005). The Practical Guide is based on principles detailed in the Australian National Audit Office's (ANAO) Better Practice Guide: Administration of Grants (May 2002).
The Department maintains frequent contact with grant recipients to ensure that reporting requirements are met. An evaluation of rounds 6 to 11 of the program was conducted.
Research and analysis activities contribute to corporate objectives
The Department also produces a number of statistical publications on the information economy. In November 2005, it published Current State of Play 2005, which has been a useful tool for disseminating information about the development of Australia as an information economy.
The Department broke new ground in relation to the measurement of trust and security issues with the release of Trust and Growth in the Online Environment published in December 2005. Trust and security were identified as major priorities in the earlier policy document, Australia's Strategic Framework for the Information Economy 2004–2006. The Trust and Growth in the Online Environment report will make a significant contribution to raising awareness of online trust issues amongst providers and users of online services and will contribute to international research in this area. Consumer focus group studies were also undertaken during the year to further explore trust and security attitudes and practices. This research will become available in 2006–07.
The significance of this research was recognised when the Department was invited to participate in a new Reference Group on Productivity Measurement convened by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The Department has continued to work closely with the ABS to ensure that key statistical information continues to be available to inform future policies.
The Department worked with the e-Research Coordinating Committee to prepare a report entitled An Australian e-Research Strategy and Implementation Framework. The report considers key issues that will impact on Australia's ability to develop and broadly adopt e-research capabilities. It also sets out a framework for addressing these issues in a cohesive way to better inform decision making at the government, funding agency and institutional levels. The Department has been an active member of the e-Research Coordinating Committee since its inception in May 2005.
During 2005–06, the Department continued to work closely with consultants and researchers to investigate the links between ICT and productivity growth. That work shows further evidence that the impact of ICT has been significantly underestimated, largely because conventional methodologies for measuring productivity are not sensitive to the lagged impact of investment in ICT. The studies also indicate that between 59 and 78 per cent of Australia's recent productivity growth can be attributed to technological factors.
The Department, together with consultants and researchers, has produced six reports on ICT productivity this year:
- Productivity Growth in Service Industries;
- ICT and Australian Productivity: Methodologies and Measurement;
- Estimating Aggregate Productivity Growth for Australia: the role of information and communication technology;
- Forecasting Productivity Growth: 2004 to 2024;
- General Purpose Technologies and the Information Economy: an evolutionary approach to macroeconomic modelling (to be published); and
- The economic impact of ICT R&D: a literature review and some Australian estimates (to be published).
The Department's productivity research findings were presented to a meeting of the Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy of the OECD in October 2005.
The Department also produced a number of internal and public papers on information economy issues. For example, Exploration of Future Electronic Payments Markets, released in June 2006, presents the results of a major survey of consumers and businesses on their perceptions of different payment methods and their actual payment practices.
It provides a detailed examination of domestic and international market developments, with a particular focus on business-to-business e-commerce, peer-to-peer and device-to-device transactions, mobile commerce and micro payments—areas where gaps in the electronic payments system appear to be emerging. It also identifies potential development pathways to a more efficient e-payments marketplace.
Effective budget management
As identified in the resources for outcome table (page 94), the overall price of output 3.5 was below the budgeted allocation of $14.041 million by $.358 million (approximately 2.5 per cent). This was largely attributable to a significant underspend on staff expenses due to the latency between vacancies arising and the completion of recruitment activity as well as the difficulties in attracting and retaining strong fields of candidates. Towards the end of the reporting period, revised recruitment strategies had largely corrected these trends.
Regular evaluation of the budget outcome is conducted with managers and commentary on variations between budget, expenditure and forecasts are provided to senior management on a monthly basis.